DFW SPORTS MIX 04 04 13
By Don Arnick

In one weekend of hoops, we saw one player putting on a shooting clinic that propelled his team to the final four. One player getting triple teamed in a huge upset. And we saw one player getting his game back in his team’s run to the playoffs
First , the Final Four in Atlanta is set. Michigan is showing it’s swagger like they did in the 90’s. One player has mega swag and his name is Nik Stauskas. He scored 22 points, most of them were threes in the 79-59 beating of Florida. He found on spot on the court, the corner baseline. And shot lights out as he put his Wolverines in the Final Four. The first time since the 90’s, when the Wolverines dominated the college hoops action for that decade. And since the game was played at Cowboys Stadium, Stauskas was putting up threes like Cowboys Kicker Dan Bailey.
Baylor’s Brittney Griner has seen some defensive schemes used against her in her four years of playing center for the Lady Bears. And she has found a way to fight against them. Plus having Oddesey Sims and Destiny Williams to pass of too helps alot. All the folks were there as they faced Louisville for a sweet 16 battle in the NCAA women’s Basketball Tournament. The Cardinals Coach Jeff Weitz used a triple team scheme on Griner all game long, and it worked. Griner could not get into her game, and her supporting cast of Sims and Williams could not shoot well. Despite that, Baylor battled back, and had a one point lead late in the game, only to have Shoni Swimmel knock down two foul shots to score the huge upset of the number one ranked Baylor Lady Bears 82-81. The biggest upset in women’s college hoops history because most everyone picked Baylor to win it all. And with Stanford out, Baylor could have had the slightly eaiser road to the title. Louisville provided the road block.
I got to hand it to the Dallas Mavericks for making the last part of the season intriguing. For months, me and everyone else was talking Mavs going to the lottery and getting a middle of the road draft pick. Instead, the Mavs are making a hard charge to get in the post season. And Dirk Nowitzki is leading the charge. In the recent game against Chicago, Dirk had a 35 point game, and that included the 3 point shot that won the game with 2 seconds left to give the Mavs a 100-98 win over the Bulls. This game had all the intensity of a playoff game, that mentality that the mavs should have from here on out. The Lakers, and the Nuggets are ahead for the Mavs, as they continue to keep within arms reach of the 8 place playoff spot. If they get it, they draw San Antoino as their first round opponet. And I feel that they can push the Spurs 7 games. Been a while since a 8th place team beat the best in the NBA Western Conference. The last time was 2007 when the Mavs had the best record in the NBA, only to have Golden State beat them in 5 games. The last week of the season should be fun.